| rev:text
| - I've been going to Camelback Toyota since the end of 2009 when I began my search for a TRD Off Road Tacoma.
I had a VERY specific vehicle that I was looking for, with almost no room for variance. Black, manual, V6, TRD Offroad package (factory rear locker), access cab; my only "wiggle room" was the year/mileage. My dealings with the sales department were as you would expect with any traditional car dealership. Miscellaneous chit chat about the weather and my profession and where I might travel to in the upcoming months, etc. I did not need to bother with all of that. I knew what the trucks are worth, and EXACTLY what I was looking for. I was willing to wait, and to pay for this specific truck. First, they could not source the vehicle, but somehow I could. If they had spent an extra 10 minutes once in a while to do some searching online, they could have transferred the vehicle from the dealership in Iowa and closed a sale. Instead, I just went and got it myself. I made about 5 physical visits to the dealership and had about 15 phone conversations. They tried many times to sell me something they had in inventory (which I get) but you'd think that after I turned down 4 other trucks I was pretty set on what I wanted. That ended my dealings with the sales department.
Since taking delivery of my Tacoma, I have been patronizing their service department with numerous let-downs along the way. There have been two that might have sealed the deal for me never to return for service. First, there was a leaf spring TSB (service bulletin) which I requested to have performed on the truck. The truck was ONE MONTH out of warranty and it was denied. I spent about a week of back and forth with Toyota of North America to negotiate the repair. The service department did not advocate on my behalf at all. I was left high and dry. In the end, I bypassed the entire Toyota Motor Corporation and repaired the leaf springs myself. $150 to add an extra leaf. $1500+ for the factory repair, negotiated down to $500. In addition, I brought the issue up to the service adviser MONTHS before the truck surpassed the warranty period. It was always stated that everything was "within factory specifications" until the truck was out of warranty.
Today, I had another experience which will probably end my relationship and patronage of their service department. There has been a VERY loud clunk/pop sound coming from my front suspension for a few weeks now. I brought the truck in and reproduced the noise. It is VERY apparent that it is the suspension. I received a call later in the day that the tech has chased the noise down and says it's due to the fact that I have non-oem brake pads in the truck. Now, I can change brake pads in my driveway with very little difficulty, but I am willing to pay the almost $300 as long as my service adviser will guarantee this will solve my clunking issue. He reluctantly does. 20 minutes later I get another call. Now he starts talking in circles about non-oem brake pads and non-oem suspension and how essentially the MINOR modifications I've done to the truck are causing the issue. I say, "don't bother washing it... I'm coming to get it now".
I get back to the truck and not only am I out a day's worth of a rental car, but my dog barrier has been completely knocked out of place, the dog mat has been pushed to the rear of the truck and the seats are moved all the way back. Okay, doesn't sound like a big deal, but it takes about 15 minutes to line everything back up on the dog barrier. It's 115 degrees in Phoenix.
In the end, the noise was caused by nothing more than a not-quite torqued lower control arm nut (could have rattled loose from my last alignment). It was one of the things I asked them to check in the first place. I wouldn't have cared if they had charged me for 1/2 hour labor to tighten the one nut since my hand is recovering from a break and I can't do it myself. It took a local garage 10 minutes to diagnose and fix the problem. They said it was so simple and easy it wasn't even worth charging me. I am not kidding. $0.00. Desert Rat Off Road in Tempe, AZ.
I can only say that I feel horribly sorry for anyone who might take their vehicle into the service department without a pretty good knowledge of their vehicle. I understand that yes, there are some simple non-oem parts on my truck but Camelback Toyota actually refers people to have spacer lifts installed on their vehicles through the dealership. A spacer lift changes the geometry of the suspension in a way that the vehicle can no longer be aligned to factory specs.
I'm giving Camelback Toyota 2 stars because their Cashier, Parts and Rental departments are FANTASTIC. It's such a dichotomy between the two sides, it's ridiculous. The service advisers are all good guys and try and provide good customer service but there's a breakdown between the techs in the back and what happens on the customer's end.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)